Actor Faran Tahir rules in CSC's 'Richard III' on Boston Common this summer

By Alexander Stevens, Correspondent

Wednesday

Jul 11, 2018 at 1:55 PMJul 11, 2018 at 2:56 PM

Richard III kills a man and then has the audacity to seduce, marry and murder the widow. Later on, he has two royal kids assassinated in order to secure his place on the throne.

And yet, when Faran Tahir looks at Richard III, he sees a good guy.

Maybe “good guy” is too positive a description of Tahir’s reaction to Richard. But, in playing one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Tahir isn’t interested in the villainy.

“One can always look at the prevailing action of the play and say, ‘Richard is evil,’ ” says Tahir, who plays the title role in “Richard III,” July 18 to Aug. 5, on the Boston Common. “But I think it’s too easy to demonize him; the bigger challenge is to humanize him.”

It’s a fascinating approach that seems to offer a life lesson for the world today: Instead of just vilifying those with whom we disagree, can we find their humanity and perhaps understand them better?

Tahir believes this choice to humanize Richard is also more theatrically satisfying.

“Once we assign a label like ‘evil,’ ” says Tahir, “we lose interest in the character.”

It seems likely that Shakespeare would agree. The playwright was rarely interested in easy answers: unflawed heroes and irredeemable villains. He excelled in complex human portraits. In a nifty theatrical flourish, Shakespeare did something that made Richard more than just a monster: He gave Richard a conscience.

For Tahir, the crucial moment in the play comes with the murder of the two children who could lay claim to the throne. The humanity that’s been so hard to find in Richard is unleashed in the form of nightmares and visions: The man feels guilt.

“After he has assassinated the two kids, even he can’t face his own actions,” says Tahir. “As the play goes on, his nightmares and dreams would not be part of the story if there weren’t something inside him that was eating him up.”

Richard’s conscience interferes with his own plan to be a villain: “O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me?” It’s a heartbreaking line: Richard sees his humanity as a disease.

It seems likely that if Richard had a Twitter account, he’d use it. There will be people in the audience who watch a man bully his way into the most powerful position in the land, and they’ll be thinking of our current president.

“Oh yes, they will be,” says Tahir with a big laugh. “And I’ll be one of them.”

But Tahir and director Steven Maler won’t be drawing any straight lines between Richard and [insert modern despot here].

“We’ll leave it to the audience to draw those parallels,” says Tahir.

Tahir met Maler, the founding artistic director of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, when they were both students at the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. Tahir played Oberon in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” CSC’s first production.

“I’m dating myself,” says Tahir, referencing a show that ran 23 years ago.

The actor then headed to the West Coast, where he performs regularly on television and film, including roles as the villain Raza in 2008's "Iron Man" and Starfleet Captain Robau in 2009's "Star Trek." But he also remained in contact with CSC. Maler offered him roles in various productions since “Midsummer,” but their schedules never meshed. Then came the chance to play Richard III.

“It’s one of those roles that you want to sink your teeth into at least once and see where it takes you,” says Tahir, who lives in San Diego. “So I jumped at the opportunity.”

One of the things he can chew over is Richard’s ability to charm. This treacherous ruler often inspires a strange affection. We recognize the monstrosity of his actions, but we’re also oddly compelled by him. His outrageous behavior creates a disturbing charisma.

Therefore, Tahir believes that, if he’s successful in the role, the audience will take this wild ride with Richard.

“We shouldn’t be sitting there judging Richard’s dark acts,” says Tahir. “We should go there with him. Richard takes us on this devilish journey, and we kind of enjoy it.”

Fresh Prince of Watertown

Seamus Doyle has about the best summer job a 15-year-old could imagine.

The Watertown resident plays the young Prince Edward in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s “Richard III,” running July 18 to Aug. 5 on the Boston Common. During the fortnight of shows, he’ll perform for about 100,000 people.

“I’ve never really had stage fright, but I’ve never been on a stage this big,” says Seamus, a student at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge. “Sometimes I get nervous when I think about it, but I’m confident I’ll know what I’m doing. Once the show starts, it flows. You’re not thinking about the audience.”

You know a youngster has talent when they get cast as Nick Bottom, one of Shakespeare’s best comic roles. Seamus played the part for the Watertown Children’s Theatre, and he started getting his head (and mouth) around the crazy verbal stylings of this guy named Shakespeare.

“I’ve done Shakespeare summer camps, and I really enjoy them,” he says. “You need to understand exactly what you’re saying and why you’re saying it. It can get confusing; it’s almost like doing a translation [from a different language]. But the language is beautiful, and once you understand it, it’s very rewarding.”

The part of Prince Edward isn’t huge, but it’s important. He has a key scene with the notorious Richard III, who has bad intentions, when it comes to the teenage prince.

Prince Edward “doesn’t know everything that’s going on,” says Seamus, “but he is more aware than many of the people in the show. He’s definitely suspicious. And perceptive. He would have been a good king.”